Solar Panel Insurance: Is Your System Covered?

Bottom line up front: In most cases, yes, your solar panels and battery are covered by your standard NZ home insurance policy, but only if you've told your insurer they exist and you've increased your sum insured to cover the replacement cost. Solar is treated as a permanent fixture of your home (like a heat pump or hot water cylinder), not as a separate insurable item. The two biggest gotchas are under-insurance (your sum insured hasn't moved since the install, so a total rebuild won't cover the new $15-30k of kit on the roof) and non-notification (you never told the insurer, so they can argue you've materially changed the risk). Both are easy to fix with a five-minute phone call.

This guide is for Kiwi homeowners who have either just had solar installed, are about to, or have had it for years and never quite got around to ringing the insurer. We'll cover how the major NZ insurers treat panels and batteries, the sum-insured trap that catches almost everyone, what events are typically covered (and what isn't), and the right questions to ask when you next renew.

If you're still in the buying phase, our Solar System Ownership Guide walks through the bigger ownership picture. This article is the insurance-specific deep dive.

What Solar Panel Insurance Actually Means for NZ Homeowners

Here's the most common myth we need to clear up first: there is no special "solar panel insurance policy" sold separately in New Zealand. You don't need to ring around for solar-specific cover. Instead, your rooftop PV system, battery, inverter, and isolators are all considered permanent fixtures of your home under standard residential policies from insurers like AA Insurance, State, Tower, IAG (AMI, NZI), Vero, and FMG.

That means they're covered under the same events that cover the rest of your house: fire, storm, hail, lightning strike, accidental damage, and so on. The policy wording is largely the same. What changes is the replacement cost of your home.

And that's where the trouble starts. Since 2013, almost every NZ home insurance policy has shifted from "total replacement" to sum insured. You nominate a dollar figure, and the insurer pays up to that figure if your house is destroyed. If you bolt $25,000 of solar kit to the roof and don't tell anyone, your sum insured is now wrong.

Why the sum-insured model matters so much for solar

Before 2013, your house was just "your house" and the insurer would rebuild whatever was there. Post-Christchurch, that model became unworkable for reinsurers, so the entire industry moved to sum-insured. The Insurance Council of New Zealand has good background on this if you want the full story.

The practical upshot: you are now responsible for keeping your sum insured accurate. The insurer doesn't know you put solar on the roof. They don't drive past and check. If your house burns down and the rebuild plus solar reinstatement exceeds your sum insured, you wear the gap.

How the Major NZ Insurers Treat Panels and Batteries

The good news: every major NZ home insurer we've reviewed will cover solar PV and home battery storage as part of standard home cover, provided you notify them. The not-so-good news: the way they handle it varies, and a couple of nuances catch people out.

• IAG brands (State, AMI, NZI, Lumley): Treats solar as a permanent home fixture. You'll typically be asked the system size (kW), whether a battery is fitted, and the replacement cost. No premium loading is standard practice for grid-tied residential PV.
• Tower Insurance: Includes solar under standard home cover. Tower has been one of the more transparent insurers about battery-related questions, particularly around lithium chemistry and installation standards.
• AA Insurance (a Suncorp brand alongside Vero): Similar treatment. They'll usually ask if the install was completed by a licensed electrical worker and whether it complies with AS/NZS 5033 (the PV install standard) and AS/NZS 5139 (the battery standard).
• FMG: Rural and lifestyle-focused, and well-versed in larger systems on farms, sheds, and lifestyle blocks. Worth a chat if your install includes a shed array or off-grid components.
• Cove, Initio, Trade Me Insurance (underwritten by various): Read the PDS carefully. Some online-first insurers exclude certain solar configurations or cap battery cover at lower amounts.

The single most important thing across all of these: tell them. A 90-second phone call or webform update is the difference between a smooth claim and a fight.

What about the battery specifically?

Home batteries (Tesla Powerwall, BYD, Sungrow, Goodwe, Enphase, etc.) are almost universally covered under home contents or home fixtures, depending on whether they're hard-wired (most are) or freestanding. Most NZ insurers now explicitly ask about lithium battery chemistry on the application or renewal.

LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) is the dominant chemistry in NZ residential storage and is considered the safer option from a thermal-runaway perspective. Insurers generally have no issue with LiFePO4 installed to AS/NZS 5139. Older NMC chemistries occasionally trigger more questions, particularly around fire separation distances.

The Sum-Insured Gotcha That Catches Almost Everyone

Here's the scenario we see again and again. A homeowner had their sum insured set in 2019 at, say, $620,000 based on a Cordell calculator estimate. In 2024 they install a 7 kW solar system with a 10 kWh battery for $28,000. They ring the insurer, mention solar, get a friendly "no problem, we'll note it." Renewal comes through, premium is similar, all seems fine.

Two years later, a house fire. The rebuild quote comes in at $720,000 (because construction costs have risen). Reinstating the solar system is another $30,000 because prices have moved. Total: $750,000. Their sum insured was still $620,000. They wear a $130,000 gap.

The lesson: noting that you have solar is not the same as increasing your sum insured. These are two separate actions and you have to do both.

How to recalculate your sum insured properly

The Insurance Council recommends every homeowner runs a fresh calculation at each renewal. For solar specifically, you need to add:

• Replacement cost of panels, racking, and wiring at current market prices (not what you paid two years ago)
• Inverter replacement cost (string inverters typically $2,500-$4,500 supply only; hybrid inverters higher)
• Battery replacement cost (this is the big one; a 10 kWh battery is often $10,000-$15,000 supplied and installed)
• Reinstallation labour, including scaffolding, electrician time, and crane hire if applicable
• Recommissioning with your lines company (Vector, Orion, Wellington Electricity, etc.) and DG (distributed generation) reconnection

For a typical 7 kW system with a 10 kWh battery, the full replacement uplift is usually $25,000-$35,000 on top of the bare house rebuild. That's the number that needs to move on your sum insured.

Cordell Sum Sure (used by most insurers) and the EQC residential rebuild calculator both let you add solar as a line item. Use them.

What Events Are Typically Covered (and What Isn't)

Standard NZ home insurance covers solar systems for the same perils as the rest of the house. Coverage is usually solid for:

• Fire (including electrical fire from a faulty inverter or battery)
• Storm and wind damage (panels ripped off in a Wellington southerly, for example)
• Hail (rare in most of NZ but a real risk in Canterbury and Otago)
• Lightning strike (with the caveat that most modern inverters have surge protection; check yours)
• Accidental damage (a tradie putting a foot through a panel, a tree branch through the array)
• Theft and vandalism (rare, but it happens, especially on rural and lifestyle properties)
• Earthquake damage (via EQCover, now Toka Tū Ake, with the dwelling cap currently $300,000 plus GST; insurer covers the rest under the policy)

What's typically not covered:

• Gradual wear and tear, panel degradation, or normal end-of-life failure (this is what your manufacturer warranty is for)
• Faulty workmanship from the installer (this is what your installer warranty and the Consumer Guarantees Act are for)
• Lost generation revenue while your system is offline waiting for repair (some commercial policies cover this; almost no residential ones do)
• Damage from non-compliant DIY work or non-licensed alterations after install
• Pre-existing damage not disclosed at the time of policy inception

If you suspect your system is underperforming rather than damaged, that's a different problem. Our guide to why your solar output has dropped walks you through the diagnostic process before you ring anyone.

What This Means for You

The ROI Pragmatist

You care about not losing the asset value. Action items: ring your insurer this week, increase your sum insured by the system replacement cost, and confirm in writing (email is fine) that the system is noted. Premium will move marginally, often $30-$80 per year, which is rounding error against a $25,000+ asset.

If you're modelling ROI on a system you haven't bought yet, factor a small annual insurance bump into your operating costs. Our Solar System Cost & ROI Calculator includes operating cost assumptions you can adjust.

The Tech-Savvy Optimiser

If you've integrated EV charging, smart load management, or third-party monitoring (Solar Analytics, Powerpal, etc.), make sure all of it is captured on the install certificate of compliance. Insurers look at the CoC and as-built schematic when assessing claims. Keep digital copies in your home file.

Also: if you ever swap inverter firmware to non-manufacturer release, or add a non-certified module to a battery stack, you may void cover. Stick to certified components and authorised firmware.

The Eco-Conscious Family

Your concern is usually fire safety with the battery. The reassuring news: LiFePO4 chemistry is highly stable, and any system installed to AS/NZS 5139 by a licensed installer with the required fire separation and ventilation is treated as standard risk by NZ insurers. There's no premium loading for having a battery, in most cases.

Keep your battery's install certificate and the manufacturer's data sheet somewhere accessible (a kitchen drawer is fine). If you ever sell the house, this paperwork is gold.

Common Pitfalls and What Installers Won't Tell You

Most installers are excellent at the install itself. Where they often fall short is on the handover paperwork that helps you with insurance. Here's what to push for:

• Certificate of Compliance (CoC) and Electrical Safety Certificate (ESC): Legally required. Keep both. Without them, an insurer can question the legitimacy of the install.
• As-built electrical schematic: Shows panel string layout, inverter, battery, isolators, and connection point. Useful for both insurance and future repairs.
• Itemised invoice with replacement values: Not just a lump sum. You want to know what the panels cost, the inverter cost, the battery cost. This is what you give the insurer.
• Compliance with AS/NZS 5033 (PV) and AS/NZS 5139 (battery) explicitly stated on the CoC.
• DG approval letter from your lines company (Vector, Orion, Wellington Electricity, Powerco, Aurora, Unison, etc.). This proves the system is legally connected to the grid.

What installers often won't volunteer:

• That you need to ring your insurer (not their job, technically, but a good installer mentions it).
• That the panel warranty (typically 25-30 years performance, 12-15 years product) is from the manufacturer, not them, and is honoured by whoever the NZ distributor is at the time you claim. If that distributor goes under (as several have over the years), warranty support can evaporate. Stick to brands with a long NZ trading history.
• That if you sell the house, the warranty transfer process matters and not every brand allows free transfer.

For the broader maintenance picture, our guide to cleaning and maintaining solar panels in NZ covers what you should be doing yourself versus what needs a pro.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a separate solar insurance policy in NZ?

No. Solar panels, inverters, and home batteries are covered under standard NZ home insurance as permanent fixtures. You don't buy a separate policy; you update your existing one to reflect the new system value.

Will my premium go up after installing solar?

Usually only marginally, because the replacement value of your home has increased. Expect roughly $30-$80 per year in additional premium for a typical 6-8 kW system with battery, though this varies by insurer and region.

What happens if I don't tell my insurer I've installed solar?

Two things, both bad. First, your sum insured is too low, so a major claim will leave you out of pocket. Second, the insurer can argue you've failed to disclose a material change in risk, which can give them grounds to reduce or decline a claim. Always notify.

Is my battery covered if there's a fire caused by the battery itself?

Yes, in almost all cases, provided the battery was installed by a licensed electrician to AS/NZS 5139 and you've notified the insurer. Battery fires are extremely rare with LiFePO4 chemistry, which is the NZ residential standard.

Does EQCover (Toka Tū Ake) cover solar panels?

Yes. As permanent fixtures of the dwelling, solar panels fall under EQCover for natural disaster damage (earthquake, volcanic, tsunami, landslip), up to the residential cap. Damage above the cap is picked up by your private insurer, assuming your sum insured is accurate.

What if my installer offered me a 25-year warranty? Do I still need insurance?

Yes. Warranty covers product defects and workmanship. Insurance covers sudden, accidental damage from external events (fire, storm, hail, theft). They're different products and you need both.

Are micro-inverters and optimisers treated differently from string inverters?

No. They're all covered as part of the PV system. Enphase micro-inverters, SolarEdge optimisers, and standard Sungrow or Fronius string inverters are all treated equivalently by NZ home insurers.

If my solar exports earn me money, can I insure that income?

Not on a residential policy, generally. Loss of export income (or self-consumption savings) while a system is offline isn't covered by standard home insurance. Commercial policies sometimes include business interruption cover that captures this, but for a typical Kiwi household, you wear the lost generation while waiting for repair.

How often should I review my sum insured after installing solar?

At every renewal, at minimum. Construction costs and solar equipment prices both shift, so a number set in 2022 is probably already too low for 2025. Run a fresh Cordell calculation annually.

Does adding an EV charger or smart switchboard change anything?

Add the replacement cost to your sum insured (a hardwired EV charger is typically $1,500-$3,000 installed), and mention it on your next renewal. No premium impact in most cases.

Where to Go From Here

If you've just had solar installed, your first move is a five-minute call to your home insurer with the itemised invoice in hand. Tell them what's been fitted, ask them to note it on the policy, and confirm your sum insured reflects the new replacement cost. Get the confirmation in writing.

If you're still in the planning phase, factor a small insurance uplift into your operating costs and ask your shortlisted installers about their handover documentation. The good ones will give you a tidy folder with CoC, ESC, as-built schematic, and DG approval. Walk away from anyone who can't.

For the wider picture on owning a solar system well, head back to our Solar System Ownership Guide. To keep an eye on system health between insurance renewals, our guide to monitoring your solar production via your app is the next stop. And if something ever looks off, start with our output drop troubleshooting guide before you ring anyone.